P&QCD001

****

This Canadian duo’s auspicious debut is the kind of record that wraps itself warmly inside your ears—albeit with moments of sheer honesty that will give you the chills. A sound that’s at once retro and totally contemporary with plenty of hooks and a flair for songwriting, the music and vocals remind me of the glory days of Laurel Canyon. Rooted in folk-rock, these nine fresh selections expand the template with touches of soft rock, indie rock, and intermittently nodding toward country-rock. Regardless of the sound path chosen from song to song, it is always like an oasis of peaceful ease and good vibes amid the uncomfortable, mad scenes found in the outside world we currently live in. Restrained and delicate, nursing you back to equilibrium with its sumptuous balm of laid back-growers, JUST BEYOND THE SHINE is a near perfect hangover record.

Heather Read and Jonny Miller trade pristine vocals and play guitars while Steve Dawson (guitars, glockenspiel), Jeremy Holmes (bass, mandolin), Cary Craig and Leon Power (drums) and Adam Dobres (electric guitar, bass, drums) provide expert additional musicianship to create a soundscape that is both familiar and inventive. With the exception of the Tarriers’ Seven Daffodils, which closes the album, all songs are penned by Heather and Jonny, either separately or together. Each one resonates with a soulful beauty. The harmonies and melodies wrap over and around the lyrics of the songs in a colourful blanket that will warm even the coldest of hearts.

A compelling slice of melodic indie rock, Empty To Fill, which opens the album, features Jonny on lead vocals with Heather providing feathery harmonies. A song that feels so, so poignant right now as he maps out inner thoughts, preoccupations and anxieties with poetic detail. For Your Love, is a delicate and wistful romantic affection that shows off the best of Heather and Jonny’s partnership, stunning in its simplicity, the couple’s gentle harmonies give way to Adam Dobres atmospheric electric slide as this song succeeds in setting emotions ablaze. California Way is a treat for lovers of breezy West Coast country-folk. Surf riffed and dreamy, this is seaside soaked and sunshine bright where the calming acoustic and electric guitars pair beautifully with Heather’s tranquil voice in a way that makes one feel melancholy, yet comforted. Like many tracks Lucky In Love is a dreamy and optimistic tune, but philosophically honest. Both touching and tender in equal measure this is a tasteful lesson in folk-pop finesse. Will You sounds equally dreamily exquisite—a perfect serving of give-and-take romantic duet vocalising—featuring graceful harmonies, softly played acoustic guitars, this is serene, somatic, and impossibly graceful.

Whether it’s the rumination and reflection expressed in such songs as Flowers, the hopeful optimism of There’s A Very Good Chance or the dark sombre tones of Shoreline After The Storm, there’s consistent craft and creativity expressed at every turn. The album wraps up with their rendition of Seven Daffodils, a song previously recorded by everyone from Lonnie Donegan to Damage Control. A jangly meditation on authenticity, the duo’s version is both soulful and heartfelt. Peach & Quiet have honed their harmonies, crafting a sound that’s both sweet and strong atop instrumental lines that pull from country-rock and folk traditions to make timeless-sounding music for a modern world. Their songs open bright spaces of sound in which we can listen closely to the notes of loss, hope and love we often fail to hear in our lives. At the same time, you’re driven to pay attention knowing that the time invested will yield meaningful personal dividends as they lure you into finding yourself lost with yesterday’s thoughts, occupied by today’s choices and captivated by tomorrow’s chances.

www.peachandquietmusic,com

January 2021